Pumpkinhead (1988)

Stan Winston. He's a household name, even if you don't know his name. Think of any hugely impactful visual effects film and he's behind it. Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, Aliens, and the list goes on and on. The man is a legend no matter what. Something that many tend to also forget: he's directed two feature films. One of them is a movie with Anthony Michael Hall called A Gnome Named Gnorm and the other one...is Pumpkinhead. This movie is definitely an excuse for Winston to have fun with practical effects, as the story itself is barely there. It starts off competently enough. After a few "city kids" accidentally kill the young child of a simple farmer played by Lance Henriksen and he seeks revenge by going to an old Swamp Witch and asking her to resurrect a demon that will murder the teenagers. After that, the story quickly goes flying off the rails. Even then, it's still a fun time, as the effects themselves are impressive and the screenplay itself is massively goofy. But it does go to show that it's not surprising his directing career is not as long as his visual effects career.